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the libertine Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Cinematical Seven: Wicked Hangovers on Film

Filed under: New Releases », Johnny Depp », Cinematical Seven », Lists », Summer Movies »



If Benjamin Franklin is right (and I suspect he is) that beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy*, then hard liquor may be proof that Satan exists, and laughs at our agony the morning after indulging. But if there's a silver lining to a hangover, it's that it inspires a movie actually called The Hangover, allowing us to laugh about our own drunken antics ... and sigh in relief that they've never been bad enough to land us with a tiger, a baby, or a Mike Tyson punch. Then again, depending on what college or parties you've attended, you may have preferred to wake up with all three and a missing tooth rather than whatever or whoever you found yourself with. It doesn't always stay in Vegas.

So, in honor of the hard-partiers in The Hangover, here's seven wicked hangovers captured onscreen. It's difficult to narrow it down to just seven, so I've tried to represent just about everything except Cocktail. There's individual scenes, dark tales, and laugh out loud fratboy antics here, and ranked completely at random. They might actually make you think twice about accepting another shot of tequlia. Of course, if we ever learned from cinematic example or past experience, we'd probably never bite the lime or shout "Nastrovia!" more than once in our entire lives.

*There's no proof Franklin ever said this, but let's just lie and say he did

Review: Failure To Launch

Filed under: Comedy », Romance », New Releases », Paramount », Theatrical Reviews », New in Theaters »



Anyone who enjoys movies keeps a secret tally of any movie's strengths and weaknesses. Like an Olympic judge rating an athlete's performance, the final score determines whether a movie rates a recommendation or is forgotten as an also-ran.

As far as formula fare goes, one could do worse than the above-middlin' romantic comedy Failure To Launch starring Matthew McConaughey as a 30-something who still lives with his folks (Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw) until they hire a motivationalist (Sarah Jessica Parker) to help him fly the nest. Naturally and against all odds, McConaughey's and Parker's completely artificial relationship blossoms into something more. Here's how I broke it down:

First, it's funny. Not just an occasional giggle, sit-com kind of funny but infused throughout funny. TV vets Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, who are attached to this year's Steve Carell update of Get Smart, may be green as screenwriters, this being their first project produced, but with that inexperience comes a kind of hunger. Of course, most first-timers become well-fed and lazy after a taste of success like this, but for now, proof of their talent is apparent. Each character is created with a specific purpose, as is every scene, sequence and act. It's all very textbook, but it works. Mark one in the "plus" column.
 

What, no Libertine?

Filed under: Drama », Independent », Distribution », The Weinstein Co. », Johnny Depp », NSFW », Cinematical Indie »

Late last year, The Weinstein Company released The Libertine, Lawrence Dunmore's long-awaited, unrated, Johnny Depp-starring staging of the wine-soaked life and syphillis-stoked death of the Earl of Rochester, for one week for academy consideration. The plan, according to a Weinstein rep that we spoke to in November, was to then put the film back in theaters in January. But its initial re-release date was yesterday, and, needless to say, it's hardly playing at a theater near you. Coming Soon still has The Libertine listed as a January TBA release, but there's not a hint of a release date on the film's official site. I couldn't get anyone on the phone at Weinstein yesterday, but it seems pretty clear what's going on here: Depp has thus far failed to earn any significant nominations, and the film made not a single notable critic's list, and so the distributor assumes there's no financial incentive to give it a wide release. Do you think this is valid? It's not a great picture, but it is worth seeing, and one would imagine that Depp could draw a reasonable audience to anything. Johnny Depp superfans, rise up in revolt!
 
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